Because You Cook
You know the pleasure of
hunger, of patience
and a task well done.
Dice onion, peppers – one hot,
one sweet – saute them in olive oil,
fold them into an egg
cooked flat. Add
crumbled goat cheese, basil.
Look away.
Morning ascends, then declines,
but night drifts in, confident,
ferrying these odors among others.
Accept what comes but choose wisely.
Light the candle. Shift the burden.
* * *
“Because You Cook” first appeared in Ristau: A Journal of Being in January 2018. I am grateful to editor Robert L. Penick for taking this piece.
O at the Edges 
i like this very much. explains it perfectly
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Thanks, Beth. Those little joys!
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Great poem!
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Thank you!
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Sending this one to my son, who is a classically trained and educated Chef. 🙂
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Daily rituals, like cooking, center me.
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Tasty words.
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Thanks, Kelly!
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Beautifully expressed. A poem one can smell, taste and savor.
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Thank you, Marta. Food is always a good place to start!
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Yes, indeed. You always write such beautiful poetry. By the way, my newest post is a review I wrote about a friend of mine’s book. My intention is to get him a few more readers as this friend has helped me so much. I think he is a very good writer who deserves more recognition (probably like you all). Perhaps you could check out this post? It means a lot to me, much more than all my humble writing attempts.
Here is the link: https://momentsbloc.wordpress.com/2018/07/10/a-review-of-this-way-to-the-end-a-book-by-mario-savioni/
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Thank you! I have visited his blog and am now following.
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Thank you, Robert. Much appreciated.
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Thank you for sharing!
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You are welcome.
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Your poem has made me very hungry! I like it. Well done.
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Thank you, Sean. I think it’s lunch time!
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Can you please send me a message? I need to ask you something and no way of private messaging someone. I still can’t figure this all out. Thank you!!
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Done!
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Light the candle. Shift the burden. Wise words for all of us.
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Shifting the burden is sometimes easy, often not. But I can almost always light the candle.
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There appears therapy in the art of creating a tasty meal. The patience moment stood out for me. Tasty. What meal is being prepared?
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I find that the ritual of cooking relaxes me. Patience is essential to it – some things can’t be rushed, or they’ll be ruined. In the poem the food being prepared was a simple omelet.
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A wonderful piece on cooking. I do enjoy the serendipity of wok cooking. All about combining and timing. All about experiential serendipity.
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And it engages all the senses.
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You are a zen master! 🌟
Don’t deny it, I have found you out. 😉
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I’m much more of a muddler. 🙂
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In that case: muddle on. I enjoyed this poem very much!
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Well, I might just be a master muddler!
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Simply put, Robert ~ yes.
Thank you, again and as always. Cheers! ~ Jessan
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Thank you, Jessan.
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Wow ♡
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Thank you very much.
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Delicious 🙂
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Thanks, Steve.
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I like this – except for the goat’s cheese 🙂
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Feel free to substitute! A bit of pecorino romano would be tasty. 🙂
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🙂
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